Why the Airush Lithium V14 Kite is Perfect for Progression

As you can tell from its "V14" designation, Airush's Lithium kite has been around a while. It's a staple of their lineup as an all-around kite, and after this many versions, it's become quite refined. Rather than release a new version with minimal changes every year, Airush takes their time to develop a Lithium with impactful and meaningful changes every two years. Kristen is familiar with the V13 Lithium and has spent some time on the new V14, so she's got some insights to share about what's new.

Who Is the Lithium For?

Kristen really liked the V13, so she was glad to see that they kept its heart intact for V14. Both are fun and lofty to jump on, but versatile enough for any discipline. The V14 has some adjustments to the bridle and wingtip to make it a bit better optimized for big air, so if you like to do a variety of things but especially love to go big, you'll appreciate this change.

This is not to say it's just for advanced riders. In fact, it's very beginner-friendly. It's forgiving, it relaunches easily, and it's very stable in all conditions, even when it's gusty. The bar pressure is medium-light, which won't give you arm fatigue but will still provide enough feedback to know where the kite is and what it's doing.

While some kites like the Switchblade or the Reach are pull-and-go easy to learn on, the Lithium acts as a bridge between kites that cater heavily to beginners and big air kites. It still leans towards being beginner-friendly, so if you want to start working on kiteloops and getting more height, this kite may make those more accessible and less intimidating to you than a dedicated big air kite. While the Lithium is not a pull-and-go kite, it's very responsive and fun to fly, so it's good for experienced and advanced riders as well.

Updates for V14

The bridle on the Lithium V14 is now a micro bridle with a stopper ball like the Lift uses. This allows for a faster and smoother loop. The Lithium V13 had a longer bridle and was a little slower to catch, and that's now noticeably faster. The loop is still very forgiving, but is snappier and gives you the confidence that it's going to catch you, making it less intimidating to throw a kiteloop.

The wingtips on the V14 are a bit more square to make the kite more performance-driven. The V13's wingtips were slightly more swept back for user-friendliness. Squaring off the wingtips makes the kite feel a bit snappier and responsive with a more direct feel. However, they were able to accomplish this without losing any of the kite's stability, and it's still very easy to relaunch.

These two changes together have resulted in a kite that wants to pivot fast. When you initiate a downloop or even a kiteloop, you can see how much faster it wants to turn. Airush wanted the kite to be able to hold down as much power as possible, especially for heavier riders. Being located in Cape Town, South Africa, they were able to put it through the wringer in their testing.

Kristen's Review

Kristen was impressed with how stable the V14 was in spite of its updates. When she was out in gusty, up-and-down wind, the kite still handled very well when it was overpowered. She was able to get a lot of loft out of it, and it was responsive yet manageable. Although she's a lighter rider, she was able to get some feedback from heavier riders who tested it, and many said they could feel the difference in how the V14 handled while riding overpowered.

If you're not yet dialed in with your timing when jumping, you won't be able to get the full benefit of the loftiness and hangtime from the V14. The V13 was more forgiving for those just learning to jump. Your timing could be off or you might lose your edge, and you'd still get incredible hangtime. However, once you're more efficient and nail down your timing, you'll be able to get more out of the V14 than you could the V13.

That said, the V14 doesn't sacrifice much in terms of beginner-friendliness. As you become more experienced, a pull-and-go kite can begin to hold you back. The Lithium is very accessible to beginners, but is a bridge between dedicated beginner kites and dedicated big air kites and will help you progress in that direction.

If you're learning or you want a do-it-all kite that's really fun to jump and is lofty, the Lithium V14 might be a good option for you. The micro bridle with the stopper ball and the squared-off wingtips optimize it for big air and make it more responsive, so it's a kite experienced riders will enjoy as well.